Plan For Chaos

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Guest Posters....

One of the most important things you can acknowledge is that you can't know everything about everything. At work, as a team lead and a trainer, I always drill this into everyone. "You don't have to know all the answers, you just need to know where to go to find them." On that note, I've invited two friends to help me out here and offer their personal insights and tips. To respect their privacy, I will let them introduce themselves to you in whatever way they see fit, but I'm anxious to see what nifty tidbits they have to share with us. Welcome and thank you guys.

Hey Ladies!!!

I don't want to exclude anyone. There are plenty of single dads out there, or men who prep for their family and maybe their gal doesn't participate... you might wanna stick around, but BEWARE!! I'm going to talk periods and uncomfortable girlie things. I've been thinking about this for a few days and every day I'm more and more convinced that this is a conversation that needs to be had. (I have asked a male established-prepper friend to do an equivalent "guys" article.) There are things that we take for granted that, should shit hit the proverbial fan, it would really, really suck to live without. There are things we can do now to prepare. First and foremost for me was periods. However, I originally didn't go into it too smartly. I always use the same brand because it's what works best for me. I have no clue if other women buy what's on sale, or if most are like me... but here's the deal. I found a bunch of tampons on clearance. I thoug

3 Hours Without Shelter

3 minutes without air 3 hours without shelter 3 days without water 3 weeks without food I think it's obvious by the way I've presented these articles that I place water above shelter. That said, it's still pretty damn important. When I think of this topic, I think of tarps, tents, debris huts, R-Pods, isolated cabins in the woods, but I realized something else when I considered why it was "3 hours" category. You don't necessarily need shelter so soon if you have a decent jacket or clothing... *facepalm* Shelter is not just a place to sleep. Shelter means protection from the elements; jackets, rain ponchos, maybe even sunblock, as well as a place to call home (even if only for the night). So don't overlook these things, having a proper outer-layer makes a huge difference when considering what kind of shelter you need. In this same category of shelter comes sleeping bags. These can be really damn expensive, but for the most part, you get

Tidbit: Media and Prepping

While I have a definite format for the initial set up of this blog, there are periodically other things I'd like to discuss, little bits of wisdom I stumble across and want to share, but that don't necessarily fit in to where we're at. From now on I will list them under the label "Tidbits" for your searching pleasure. I'd like to discuss media and prepping. There's a lot of bullshit out there and there's some hidden gems. Hopefully we've reached a point where you feel like you've at least got some direction and objectives. The most important thing to remember is that you are the best judge of your needs and abilities. Look to others for advice and out of the box ideas. This is the point that I seriously started watching survival shows as study material. Don't get me wrong, you can't learn to be a survivalist from tv or youtube, but you can get ideas, find mistakes, and learn new concepts. Example. All survival kit lists have some so

The Science of Fire

When's the last time you built a fire? (Your charcoal grill doesn't really count.) If you don't have a fireplace or fire pit, some people actually go their whole lives without ever playing with fire. This is kind of mind-blowing to me (I've been making fire since i was old enough to steal matches.)(*blush*... sorry Mom.) In figuring out how to approach this subject, I've had to realize that not everyone grows up in a rural community, hunting and camping their whole lives. So, the basics, how does fire work ? Fire is a chemical reaction that takes place when heat is added to oxygen and fuel (carbon). The process doesn't work without all three. If you light a fire, and it isn't going well, you have to look to these three things to figure out the problem. Once that is determined, it's usually pretty easy to fix the issue. In chemistry, it's best to make sure you have all of your supplies prepped and ready to go before you start. You'll want yo

Oopsies, I Forgot Saltwater!!

Last night as I slipped off to sleep, it occurred to me... I didn't discuss desalination at all. It's kind of mind blowing when you consider the number of people who've never seen an ocean, yet only 1% of the earth's water is liquid freshwater. 97% is salt water and we can't drink it without removing that salt. To be quite honest I've lived on the West Coast pretty much all of my life. I spent most of the first 20 years just five minutes off the beach. That said, desalination is not something I would ever consider for my survival situation, unless I was on a boat stuck out at sea, not long-term anyway. Personal filters life Lifestraw, Survivor Filter, and Sawyer do not remove salt. The big boys, Berkey and such, do not remove salt. In my previous article, we discussed a few different ways to distill water. Solar distillation will remove salt, as well the various types of fire-heated (or propane, or whatever) distillation methods. The main issue with these i

The Source of All Life

Hopefully, by this point, you've identified your key objectives. What trouble you can most likely expect and your best options to deal with it... even if only vaguely. Keep working on it. Refine & Rethink constantly, but while you do that let's talk... water. If you're thinking about short term survival issues, storing water is generally no big deal. The basic rule of thumb is 1 gallon/person/day, but keep in mind you might have a lot of add water foods.... and bathing or washing dishes. **Don't forget your pets.** It might be more realistic to consider 2 or 3 gallons per day. You can buy various kinds of bottled, canned, or bagged water. You can "can" your own water in mason jars. You can fill soda and Gatorade-type bottles. You can buy big reusable water jugs (they usually store 5 or 7 gallons). You can get the big bathtub water bags and hope you have time to fill it before disaster strikes. You can get barrels or big water tanks. There are many, man

Where To Start?

There are dozens of reasons to Prep, ie. natural disasters, epidemic, social disorder, economic crash, zombie apocalypse, or alien invasions. Ok, some of those make me snicker, but we all have our fears. Often, once we feel securely prepped in one area, we branch out and prep for another. It's all about having a foundation and building, building, building. I think most real preppers never consider themselves done. So... How the hell do you start? I remember asking my bff that. While prepping has always been a want for me, she started years before I did. She simply said, "When you go to the store, even if it's only $5 more, buy extra." That was about it. While she was right, that wasn't what I was looking for. My goal here is to tell you everything I wish I'd been told... and eventually, maybe some of you will get to the point where I'll be looking to you for ideas. First, and foremost, assess your likely situation. Consider your region and your likel

What The Hell Am I Trying To Do Here??

For several months I've been asked by friends to do a "what's in my Bugout Bag" video and I've been asked about prepping in general. Many people want to prep and find the whole thing overwhelming and simply don't know where to start. When the topic of prepping comes up in the chatroom, everyone is an expert and everyone has 15 random things you MUST KNOW NOW!! Holy shit, overwhelming. I'd been asked to lead a chat "class"/open discussion.... well, it's just to damn open. Don't get me wrong, I love personal insight, but people just starting out need to start with the basics. You don't need to worry about an arsenal if you don't have food to get you through the weekend. If you will more than likely have to "bug out" is 250 gallons of water really beneficial? I've been seriously prepping for about 3 years. I am by no means an authority on the issue, but I've had my *facepalm* moments and I've had my AH-HA!